Parmesan Breaded Chicken and Cheesy Puffed Potatoes

For the most part, my husband and I coexist in a pretty democratic relationship.  We generally agree on almost every decision we make...and on the rare occasion we do eventually just agree to peacefully disagree.  I will fully admit though that in the kitchen I am a complete and total Dictator!  I usually don't take my husband's taste...or lack there of...into consideration when planning dinner.  To his dismay, I expose him to all sorts of crazy experimentations and continue to put evil things like green peppers and onions into the dishes I make.  I am a believer that if you eat something enough times you can make yourself like anything.  My husband believes that I will never change his taste in food.  So our silent battle wages on...I keep hiding things he doesn't like in the food I prepare, he finds them and picks them out.  My husband and I are both extremely stubborn people, but I WILL win!!

I will admit though, that the rice/bean dish I made for Cuban night did have an awful lot of green pepper and onion in it, so I decided to have mercy on my poor husband who is quite possibly the most boring eater in the world.  It seems like every time I ask him if he likes a certain food or ingredient the answer is almost always not really, no or NO!  I'm not sure how I ended up with someone so far on the opposite end of the food spectrum.  I guess it's a good thing for me that he NEVER cooks...not so much for him.  Sorry for his luck. 

I decided that I would put my homemade whole wheat breadcrumbs to good use and make something I know he likes...oven baked Parmesan breaded chicken.  And in honor of my "meat and potatoes" hubby some cheesy puffed potatoes to go along with it.  He recently told me that he is tired of mashed potatoes (seriously?!?), so I went with this as a kind of meet in the middle potato dish.  Adding the egg to the potatoes really makes them nice and puffy...the kids loved them!  Even my husband finished his without any complaints!  Success!!

So in honor of my plain Jane (is their a male version of this saying...Plain Joe or something like that maybe?) husband, I present to you a non-ethnic and unexciting, yet very tasty dinner.  

Parmesan Breaded Chicken

1 - 2 lbs chicken breast

1 1/2 c bread crumbs

1/3 c panko bread crumbs

1/3 c Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

In a shallow bowl, combine both bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

In a second shallow bowl, combine the egg and milk and lightly beat.

Dip the chicken breast in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.  Press firmly to coat well.  Place in a large greased baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 mins.

Cheesy Puffed Potatoes

6 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 c shredded Cheddar cheese + 1/4 c for topping

1/3 c milk

3 tbsp margarine

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

In a large pan of salted water, boil the potatoes about 20 mins until tender.  Drain the potatoes and place in a large bowl.  Add the milk, butter and salt.  Using an electric hand mixer, beat until smooth.

Add the 1 c. cheese and mix well until cheese is blended in and slightly melted.

Add the egg and blend well.

Place in a greased 8.5" x 11" baking dish.  Bake, uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins.

Top with remaining 1/4 c cheese and return to oven fir an additional 5 mins.

Parmesan breaded chicken and Cheesy puffed potatoes.

I also served with a salad..no meal is complete without at least ONE thing my husband won't eat!! The Dictator rules!! =)

The Joys of Leftovers

Last night I decided I would repurpose some leftovers from the fancy schmancy banquet I attended for my husband's work Thursday evening.  The event caterer provided an amazing family style dinner consisting of seasoned cod filet, some type of breaded chicken breast and beef short ribs all accompanied by a sauteed vegetable medley of peppers, zucchini, carrots and onions.  Since my husband was not only an award recipient (I guess he really does work hard all day long), he was also on the event planning committee which gave him the added benefit of taking home some of the leftover food...which I was quite excited about!  I also used up the leftovers from the taco dinner I made for the kids and my wonderful friend who took on the monumental task of babysitting 75 percent of my children!! 

I think my impending trip back home to San Diego in June have put thoughts into my head of all the delicious Baja Mex food I have so been missing since my last visit (I'm not sure how I'm going to possibly visit enough eating establishments in the short time I'm there but, I'll just have to man up!)  I have been craving (no I am not pregnant, but since I have 4 kids a very legitimate guess) anything remotely "Mexican" and avocados so this is what I ended up with.  I can't really call it a quesadilla since I forgot to put the cheese inside it (no worries...I just melted it on the top), so I guess I'll call it a Mexican inspired chicken, refried bean and vegetable tortilla fold over.  Sure....we'll go with that!  Even without a proper name it was still very tasty!  I LOVE LEFTOVERS!!

I lightly spread one side of a tortilla with margarine.  Then, I layered 1/2 the tortilla with refried beans, diced chicken breast, cumin and garlic powder.  On the other 1/2, I threw on a mountain of sauteed vegetable medley.  Cooked over medium heat until lightly brown and crispy on the outside.  Then I folded it over and slid it onto the plate.  It was a monster!!!

Since I forgot to put the cheese inside it (oops) I just threw a handful on top and let it melt.  Then added diced tomatoes and lettuce and served a smashed up avocado on the side.

Close up of my monster "tortilla foldover".  Watch out or it just might eat you first!

Apricot & Peach Chicken with Pineapple-Mango Salsa and Cilantro Lime Rice

My favorite meat, hands down, is chicken!  So I am bit embarrassed to admit how few ways I actually prepare my chicken!  I generally bake it with a little olive oil and some pre-made garlic seasoning blend.  Occasionally, I will roast a whole chicken seasoned with black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  I do have a variety of ways I use the LEFTOVERS from both these cooking methods, but I really need to start experimenting more with the initial chicken dish!!

I have a tendency to stockpile food in my basement when I find a good sale.  I call it my bomb shelter!  I'm not quite ready to sign up for an episode of Hoarders just yet, but I do admittedly have more down there than I need.  In case of an emergency, those who live close enough should consider setting up camp over here.  If you bring the bottled water (which for the record I have none of) I will have plenty of canned goods to go around!  A few months ago they had a sale on canned fruit so, like a paranoid doomsdayer, I loaded up my shopping cart.  When I got home, to my horror, I found a can of apricots that I had mistaken for peaches!!  Eeeek!  What was I going to do with this?!?  Panic started to set in and I seriously considered returning it, but then decided against this because it just seemed silly since I only paid like $.75 for it in the first place.  So I put it in the very back row of the shelf behind all the other fruit....and there it sat....and sat....and sat.  As the weeks went by, my kids slowly be surely depleted my stock of canned fruit until the apricots were rediscovered last weekend.  So, I concluded the time had finally come to find SOME way to use this lonely can of apricots.  I decided what better use than on the chicken...then not only would I be freeing them from a sad life on my basement food shelf, but also meet my desire to be more adventurous with my chicken preparation. 

For Sunday night's dinner I decided to puree the apricots and throw everything together in the crockpot.  As I was turning to leave and head back upstairs I eyed my supply of home canned goods from this past fall and decided that for some added sweetness I would throw in a small jar of peach jelly...the end results hopefully being some kind of an apricot glaze.

I'm not really sure what happened, but even after cooking for a whole day on the low setting in the crockpot, the chicken was a little on the dry side.  I have cooked chicken breast in the crockpot before with great results...usually so tender it falls apart with a fork.  Maybe it was the chicken??  I was happy with the "glaze" though...it was thick and sweet with a slight tartness courtesy of the apricots.  I might try it again on a whole pork roast.  The chicken did make pretty good leftovers as a topping for my spinach salad I ate on Wednesday, as well as inside a quesadilla I made for lunch yesterday afternoon.

I served it with cilantro lime rice which I was very happy with!  My husband commented that it tasted a lot like Chipotle's rice so I'm going to make some again for a filler the next time I make burritos.  Now if I can only figure out how to recreate their beans!!  My kids weren't huge fans of the rice though...oh well.  At least I talked them into trying one bite!

My absolute favorite part of dinner was the pineapple-mango salsa I threw together.  I used to be one of those people who thought salsa HAD to be made with tomatoes.  A few years ago, while we were on vacation we came across an Amish community that provided tours of their homes, both historic and more "modern".  They were also selling their various homemade baked goods, breads and other yummy treats.  I spotted some peach salsa they had set out to sample and fell in love with it from the first taste.  If you've never tried salsa made with fruit, you really need to give it a try.  I found a recipe online for a fresh pineapple salsa, but made quite a few changes to the original.  The addition of a can of black beans transformed it from a condiment to a nice side dish that complemented the sweetness of the chicken "glaze".  The added bonus was that there was a whole bunch leftover so I have been happily snacking on the remaining portion with tortilla chips this entire week!

Apricot & Peach Chicken

1 can chicken broth

1 small can apricots, drained

1 small jar peach preserves

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp minced garlic

1 - 2 lbs. chicken breast

Most of the ingredients.

In a mini food processor or blender, puree the apricots.

Add all ingredients to a crockpot and mix well.

I just threw my chicken breasts in frozen.

Place chicken in crockpot.

Cook over low setting for 8 hours.  Easy enough!

Pineapple Mango Salsa

1 c diced pineapple chunks (I used the canned kind and reserved the juice)
1 c diced mango
1/2 c diced red pepper
1/2 c diced green pepper
1/2 c diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen corn, defrosted
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1/3 c pineapple juice
1 tsp cumin (I love cumin so you might to start with 1/2 tsp and increase to taste)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Mix together pineapple, mango, red pepper, green pepper, onion and jalapeno pepper. 

Add black beans and corn.

Chopped cilantro.

Cumin, salt and pepper.

Add pineapple juice, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper.  Mix well and chill until ready to serve.

Cilantro Lime Rice (The best part about this rice is you can easily adjust the amounts of lime zest and lime juice depending how much lime flavor you want!!)

2 c water

1 tbsp butter

1 c long grain white rice

1/2 - 1 tsp lime zest

1 - 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 c chopped cilantro

Salt to taste



Bring water to boil in a medium sized saucepan.  Add butter until melted.

Add 1 c rice to boiling water.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 mins.

Meanwhile, zest and juice the lime.  Set aside until rice is cooked.  I REALLY need to get one of those micro planers!!  The box grater isn't really meant to zest fruit...and it's really hard to clean!!

Chop the cilantro...you can make it as fine or coarse as you like.  I like slightly larger pieces of cilantro in my rice.

Once rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork.  Add the lime zest, lime juice, cilantro and salt.  Mix well and serve immediately.

Apricot & Peach Chicken, Pineapple-Mango Salsa and Cilantro Lime Rice.

Not just your regular white rice!!  YUM!

Apricot & Peach Chicken with Pineapple-Mango Salsa.  A nice pairing!

Southwestern Layer Bake

Last night was another late night painting blocks, but we did manage to get them all done.  We were only up until a little after 11:30 p.m.!!  Yeah!!  So as predicted, there was no time for posting.

Didn't get a chance to post this morning because I had to be up and out of the house early to get to the grocery store.  Since it's St. Patrick's Day I have an awful lot to do for tonight's festivities.  As we speak, I am eating lunch with the kids, holding a squirmy little Irish looking lad on my lap and typing one handed all at the same time.  Probably the only chance I'll get until later tonight.  Hooray for multitasking!!

Last night I had a meeting to attend with Tyler to see if he is interested in joining band next year in middle school.  I can't believe I'm going to have a middle schooler next year....WOW!  He showed some interest in possibly the bells (aka the small xylophone and I explained this was percussion and he would have to learn other things like the drums...he was okay with this).  We signed him up for a time to go look at the other instruments to see which was the best fit for him, if any.  Music is a requirement in 6th grade, so if band isn't for him he has the other choices of strings (he already said no to this which makes me say YES!!!!) or just a general music class.  Early prediction from Mom shows a good chance of general music class in the near future.  We'll see.

So, because of this meeting it was kind of a throw together whatever I could find type of night as I didn't have a whole lot of time for food prep or cooking.  I had a lot of leftover corn in the fridge and some corn tortillas that were never used and about to expire.  I've also had some frozen ground chicken in the freezer for some time that needed to be used or the poor little chicken who gave his life would end up a tad bit freezer burned.  We couldn't have his fate be that.  Instead, he was destined to become Southwestern Layer Bake.  RIP Mr. Chicky...you were yummy and I am thankful for your sacrifice!! 

Southwestern Layer Bake

1 lb ground chicken

1 packet taco seasoning (I like McCormick brand because there is no evil MSG in it)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 can corn, drained

8 small corn tortillas (flour or whole wheat ones would work too)

Shredded cheese

Tortilla chips, crushed

Lettuce and sour cream for serving



Brown the chicken in a pan.  I didn't need to drain it because it was very lean.  If you use beef or another fatty meat you will need to drain the grease.

Add the seasoning packet and mix well.  I did not add the water specified on the back of the package.

Black beans, tomatoes and corn.

Add all to the pan, stir well and heat through over medium heat.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and place 4 of the corn tortillas in a single layer on the bottom.

Add 1/2 of the chicken mixture on top of the tortilla layer.

Cover with cheese.

Repeat the layering process 1 more time with remaining 4 tortillas, then 1/2 chicken mixture and lastly cheese.  Top with crushed tortilla chips.

Normally I would bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 mins, but since I was already in the middle of baking something else at 325 degrees, I let it sit in the oven for around 35 mins.  No biggie...the chips just didn't get as crispy as normal, but still tasted the same! 

Serve with lettuce and sour cream on the side.  I used a little leftover salad from last night (I'm not kidding...I really do save EVERYTHING) which is why you see a few tomatoes and pieces of cheese amongst the lettuce. 

Chicken Quesadillas

Didn't get a chance to post about dinner last night until this morning, but I had a very good reason.  Right after dinner we had to go to the store to buy soccer equipment for Tyler and Brenna.  After we got home and all the kids were asleep (except baby of course) we started painting some wooden blocks for the mega playground structure my husband has been planning all winter to build for the kids.  We were up until 12:00 a.m. painting and only had 1/2 of them done!!  Looks like I'll be painting again tonight instead of posting!! 

This week is turning out to be pretty busy, so although last night's dinner wasn't exciting or gourmet, it was pretty quick and tasted great.  My kids love "Mexican" food.  I don't really classify anything I make truly Mexican...I guess maybe more of an Ohio-Mex than anything.  I haven't found any restaurants here in Ohio that can compare to the authentic food I ate growing up in San Diego.  I truly believe that the only place you can get food like that is IN San Diego (Booooooooo!!!!).  Next to my family and a few friends I have left in the area, it is the third thing I miss the most.  Yes, even more than the beach and weather. 

I have to clear up 3 misconceptions people commonly have about San Diego.

1) Yes, it is cool to say that I grew up living by the beach, but honestly I did not really go that often.  There were maybe a few magic years in between little kid and adult where I did have the opportunity to go "more" often, but "more" I really mean only a handful of times.  The beach is one of those things you don't appreciate when it is within distance of going and you miss terribly only when you possibly CAN'T go because you live in a land locked state!  People often say to me in disbelief,  "How could you possibly not go to the beach?!?  If I lived close to the beach I would be there EVERY day!!!!"  They do not, however, factor in the following: 

• Living BY the beach was a relative term.  Any beach was at least a 30 minute drive...and don't even get me started on how long it would take to find a parking spot.  Most times you had to park on some residential street and walk another mile to actually get onto the beach!!!  Finding a time to go that was worth making the "30 minute" (give or take anywhere up to an hour additional depending on work traffic which you were almost always guaranteed to hit on the way there or home...or both!!).  Monday through Friday we had this little thing called school that always seemed to get in the way of a nice beach trip.  A lot of us also had various after school activities like sports or band....or babysitting your brothers and sister if you were my poor best friend (sorry Heidi).  If by chance enough of us didn't have something going on after school, there was always homework that had to be done.  And if by some minuscule chance the planets aligned and enough of us were out of activities and didn't have a lot of homework, by the time school was over and you drove out to the beach you pretty much had to turn around and come right home in order to be on time for dinner.  Basically what this came down to was no beach on the weekdays!
• Having a way to get to the beach...I didn't get my driver's license until I was 17.  I did have a few friends who had their license when I was 16, but even fewer of those friends actually had vehicles which exclusively belonged to them.  1 of those friends had a truck which sat only 2 people.  Although California has a reputation for being full of pretty laid back, easy going, free thinking residents, it was still illegal to pile 8 to 10 additional people into the bed of his truck....even alllllllllllllll the way back in 1996!
• Going to the beach, for me at least, basically meant sitting around hanging out with friends, listening to music and laying on the sand or grass....depending on where there was a spot available.  I hated under any circumstances actually going IN the water.  Something about ocean water is just nasty, plus once you get out you're all itchy from the salt water and sand gets in your unmentionable areas.  I guess I just found it easier (not to mention cleaner) to go over to a friend's house to hang out, lay around and listen to music!

2)The weather is NOT always sunny and 72 in San Diego.  I never remember it being cold enough, until recently anyway, to actually snow in San Diego county.  Growing up though, I did think that white stuff on the grass when you woke up in the morning that melted away by mid morning was snow.  Boy was I wrong.  Frost is NOT snow.  I never had to shovel frost off my driveway!!  Still, in the winter it did get cold and windy, especially at the beach.  Despite popular belief, most Californians DO NOT spend their Christmas at the beach!  In the summers it gets really hot...a dry desert hot over 100 degrees is miserable to go out in (and even more miserable to be inside without an air conditioner in....thanks Mom!!)  Let's also not forget to mention the 3 days a year it rains!

3) Not everyone in California knows how to surf.  I might have stepped on a board once or twice, but it was always just sitting in the sand.  I think it would be fun to learn, but unfortunately, all the surfing classes in Ohio are always just too full and never have an opening! =)

So, back to dinner.  I had a leftover chicken breast from the night I made the twice baked sweet potatoes.  So I diced it up for chicken quesadillas.  Also cut up some onions, red peppers, mushrooms, black olives and tomatoes.  Defrosted some of my frozen homemade refried beans.  My Assistant Chef mashed an avocado up in a bowl, got some cheese, whole wheat tortillas, sour cream & salsa from the fridge and was in charge of making the salad that went along with the quesadillas.  A great way to use up a small amount of leftover chicken!! 

Assistant Chef preparing the salad!

She really liked tearing the salad by hand.  My Grandma would be very proud.  She hates when people cut lettuce with a knife!

Assistant Chef with her salad....very nice job!!!

Diced black olives, tomatoes, leftover chicken breast, mushrooms, red peppers and onions.



Put a small layer of margarine on one side of tortilla and place in a large skillet.  On one half spread beans, on the other half sprinkle on cheese, add toppings of choice.  I also sprinkled on some garlic powder, paprika and cumin.  Cook over medium-high heat until bottom is light brown and crispy.  Fold in half and transfer to plate.



 I like to put my avocado right on top and then serve the sour cream and salsa on the side.  I love avocados!!

Finished avocado with a little quesadilla underneath! =)